Chess Candidates 2024: How the Indian grandmasters fared

The Candidates tournament featured some exceptional performances by the Indian contingent besides the eventual winner, Gukesh.

Published : Apr 24, 2024 10:58 IST - 5 MINS READ

R. Praggnanandhaa can draw strength from the fact that, despite being a debutant, he could play to his seeding in such a challenging field.
R. Praggnanandhaa can draw strength from the fact that, despite being a debutant, he could play to his seeding in such a challenging field. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza
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R. Praggnanandhaa can draw strength from the fact that, despite being a debutant, he could play to his seeding in such a challenging field. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza

Of the five debutant Indians in the 2024 Candidates, D. Gukesh went on to claim the title in the open section, where an eight-man field included four from the world’s top-10 list.

The other four — two in each section — also had their moments. If R. Praggnanandhaa played to his rating and seeding, Vidit Gujrathi had the rare distinction of beating World No. 3 Hikaru Nakamura twice. If third-ranked Koneru Humpy showed steely resolve to bounce back from a poor start to finish joint-runner, young R. Vaishali matched her senior compatriot’s tally by dramatically rising from a four-game losing streak to finish the campaign with five straight victories.

Here are the Candidates’ report cards of these four Indians. Read on…

R Praggnanandhaa came to Toronto with the seasoned Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler as part of his team. In spite of playing to his rating, he was left to rue a few missed chances, including one against Gukesh in the second round, which he eventually lost. His opening preparation clearly stood out, and he was seldom in any trouble going into the middle game. Clearly, he could shift gears when needed.

Looking back, Praggnanandhaa was sure to reflect on his fifth-round clash against Ian Nepomniachtchi, whom he out-prepared in the opening phase and then missed a possible victory before agreeing for a draw.

In fact, his seven-game winless streak, from Round 8 to 13, including losses to Nakamura and Caruana, effectively pushed him out of the title race.

Points scored by Praggnanandhaa
Points scored by Praggnanandhaa
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Points scored by Praggnanandhaa

Of his three victories, including two against last-man Nijat Abasov, the one with black pieces against Vidit was well-crafted. Praggnanandhaa’s losses to the two Americans — Nakamura and Caruana — late in the competition must have taught the youngster a lot. In both these encounters, he played white but could not deal with the superiority of these two players, who are considered the strongest after Magnus Carlsen in the past decade.

Overall, Praggnanandhaa can draw strength from the fact that, despite being a debutant, he could play to his seeding in such a challenging field.

Praggnanandhaa’s stats
Rank – 5
Seeding – 5
Rating – 2747
Performance rating – 2745
Rating points lost – 0.4

He won and lost an equal number of games. He will remember his first Candidates as the one where he could have clearly done better.

Vidit Gujrathi, the most experienced of the three Indian debutants, left his stamp on the Candidates with a display of enterprise that surprised many.

Though his points tally does not reflect the value he brought to the competition, Vidit’s twin victories over Nakamura will be recalled in every discussion of this premier event.
Though his points tally does not reflect the value he brought to the competition, Vidit’s twin victories over Nakamura will be recalled in every discussion of this premier event. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza
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Though his points tally does not reflect the value he brought to the competition, Vidit’s twin victories over Nakamura will be recalled in every discussion of this premier event. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza

Though his points tally does not reflect the value he brought to the competition, his twin victories over Nakamura will be recalled in every discussion of this premier event.

Victories over World No. 3 Nakamura and World No. 4 Alireza Firouzja gave Vidit instant recognition in the chess world. Though Vidit won the Grand Swiss — considered the toughest open tournament — to qualify for the Candidates, the conquests of Nakamura and Firouzja surely did bring never-before attention to his skill sets.

Points scored by Vidit
Points scored by Vidit
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Points scored by Vidit

When Vidit beat Nakamura in their return encounter in the second half of this double round-robin event, it was believed that the popular American’s title prospects were firmly buried. But Nakamura bounced back to stay in contention until the final-round deadlock against eventual champion Gukesh.

Vidit was sure to rue the losses to Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh, but nothing was more shattering than the defeat to Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Vidit’s stats
Rank – 6th
Seeding _ 7
Rating – 2727
Performance rating –2697
Rating points lost – 6

He appeared to be on the threshold of victory but slipped and lost to the two-time defending champion, who remained the only unbeaten player in the competition. Vidit hid his face in his hands and fought back tears. What a huge miss it was!

Overall, Vidit could take back plenty of positives, the biggest being the way he ended Nakamura’s 47-game unbeaten streak in classical time format. It was a great learning experience for him, who is showing great skill in matching some of the finest in the world.

Koneru Humpy made up for a slow start in the second half of her campaign to share the second spot.

Given her experience and head-to-head record against those in the field, Koneru Humpy was expected to do better.
Given her experience and head-to-head record against those in the field, Koneru Humpy was expected to do better. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza
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Given her experience and head-to-head record against those in the field, Koneru Humpy was expected to do better. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza

Given her experience and head-to-head record against those in the field, the 37-year-old was expected to do better. But she deserves all credit for giving it her all despite struggling with form.

Points scored by Koneru
Points scored by Koneru
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Points scored by Koneru

In the first half of seven rounds, Humpy was not only winless but suffered a loss to the lowest-rated Bulgarian Nurgyul Salimova in the fourth round and to second-seeded Chinese Lei Tingjie in the sixth.

However, it was in the second half that Humpy’s determination came to the fore. She resurrected her campaign by not only staying unbeaten but also scoring over compatriot R. Vaishali, avenging the loss to Salimova, and finishing her campaign by beating second seed and defending champion, Lei Tingjie. This triumph saw her match Lei’s tally and finish joint runner-up, before Vaishali joined the duo.

Koneru’s stats
Rank – Tied 2nd
Seeding – 3
Rating – 2546
Performance Rating – 2542
Rating points lost – 1.4

It is creditable that, despite lacking the cutting edge for the better part of the Candidates, Humpy could draw from her vast experience to bounce back.

Though champion Tan Zhongyi, who never trailed, went beyond the reach of the other contender towards the closing stages, Humpy did extremely well to occupy the next best spot.

R. Vaishali was the discovery of the Candidates, for which she had qualified by emerging as the surprise champion of the Grand Swiss in November. After becoming the country’s third female Grandmaster, she had rightfully earned her spot.

Beating Goryachkina and Lagno, the two Russians in the fray, was clearly a big takeaway for R. Vaishali.
Beating Goryachkina and Lagno, the two Russians in the fray, was clearly a big takeaway for R. Vaishali. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza
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Beating Goryachkina and Lagno, the two Russians in the fray, was clearly a big takeaway for R. Vaishali. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza

Equally, she was not expected to make a splash in the Candidates since she hardly had opportunities to play with the elite.

But she did.

Points scored by Vaishali
Points scored by Vaishali
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Points scored by Vaishali

Rated seventh in the field of eight players, Vaishali had a highly forgettable first half despite a decent start. In the first three rounds, she was part of all three possible results, with her victory coming over the lowest seed, Salimova, in the third round.

However, the victory was to remain the brightest part for Vaishali for the next six rounds, since she lost the last four rounds of the first half.

When she ended the first half with two defeats and resumed the second half with two losses, Vaishali’s campaign appeared to be in tatters.

Vaishali’s stats
Rank – Tied 2nd
Seeding – 7
Rating – 2475
Performance rating – 2552
Rating points gained - 14.2

She lost a few games by committing early blunders and the rest by playing moves of suboptimal strength in crucial positions.

What followed was simply sensational and unforeseeable. She won the remaining five rounds to finish as joint runner-up.

Notably, her victims included top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina, second seed Lei Tingjie, fourth seed Kateryna Lagno, and former World Championship runner-up Anna Muzychuk.

Beating Goryachkina and Lagno, the two Russians in the fray, was clearly a big takeaway for Vaishali.

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